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The shackles were fastened by putting a slaves arms in the loops and then putting those loops on the top bar. From there another metal piece was placed as seen on the right side of the picture that prevented the loops from coming off(Foltz).

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The Seraphic Marie of Nantes, Captain Gaugy, Musee d’Histoire de Nantes(The Seraphic)

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For the majority of Africans, the middle passage consisted of overcrowded ships, little food and water, an unsanitary environment, sexual assaults and suicides. On top of that the captains cared more about preventing loss of life rather than good treatment so the slaves were under constant watch and constant discipline with only the most basic care throughout the whole trip. Due to the horrific conditions on the ships many Africans did not live to see American shores as they would die on the ships(Falola and Warnock).

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Olaudah Equiano, writer of the account(Olaudah)

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"The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air. But now that the whole ship's cargo were confined together it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious perspiration, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration from a variety of loathsome smells and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died . . . This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable, and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women and the groans of the dying rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable."("Olaudah").

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The crew of slaves ships were afraid of rebellion, so they chained the men up and separated them from women and children. The women and children were seen as a non-threat and the crew was not worried about a rebellion from them(Mustakeem).

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Slaves boarding a slave ship(Transatlantic)

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After a slave trader took interest in purchasing a slave they would take a physical and mental assessment of their abilities that was often very demeaning and even sexually exploitative. Men were mostly gauged on their ability to perform laborious tasks in the fields while women were gauged on their ability to perform in tasks for households, fields, and their fertility in hopes of having them give birth to children who would also become slaves(Mustakeem).

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Jamestown, Virginia in the 17th century(Jamestown)

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The first slaves arrived in Jamestown Virginia in 1619 after tobacco, a high maintenance crop, was successfully introduced into the southern colonies. Slavery was seen as a way to cut production costs by not having to pay workers for all the hard work it took to maintain tobacco(Newman).